#1: BizSugar

BizSugar is a social bookmarking networkdedicated to news and tips for small businesses. It covers marketing, finance, franchises, global, legal, management, technology and startups. Home page stories receive an average of 20 to 30 votes, or “sugars.” You can easily retweet the original source from the BizSugar home page, as well as share it on StumbleUpon, Delicious, Facebook, Google Buzz and email.

You can also create detailed profiles including links to your website, main social profiles and even a link to your latest blog post via RSS feed. You can become friends with other users, send them direct private messages and comment on stories.

If you’re looking to make friends with the most active users, you can view them in the top users list based on various network activity (story submissions, votes and comments).

BizSugar Stats & Tools

BizSugar receives an average of 40,000 unique visitors per month and has over 200 members.

#2: Blog Engage

Blog Engage is a social bookmarking network and community specifically for bloggers who write about any topic from blogging to technology and anything in between. Home page stories receive an average of 10 to 20 votes. You can easily share items from the Blog Engage home page to a variety of networks using the Share This link under each story.

On Blog Engage, you’re able to create your own profile and you can add other members as friends. Interaction between users can happen in a variety of places through commenting on stories, participating on the Blog Engage forums and sharing stories within groups.

If you’re looking to make friends with the most active users, Blog Engage also offers a list of top users based on network activity.

Blog Engage Stats & Tools

Blog Engage receives an average of 19,000 unique visitors per month and has over 400 members.

#3: Design Bump

Design Bump is a social bookmarking network for designers looking to share stories and tutorials for web design, graphic design and even niche design topics such as architecture and industrial design. Items on the home page receive an average of 10 to 20 votes.

Although interaction on Design Bump is limited to comments on stories, you’re able to create a basic profile and include up to 12 images that will link to your portfolio. Top users are listed based on network activity.

Design Bump Stats & Tools

Design Bump receives an average of 30,000 unique visitors per month and has over 8,000 members.

#5: DZone

DZone is a social bookmarking network for website developers and programmers. Home page stories receive 5 to 15 votes and can be shared via Twitter. You can create a very basic profile and interaction is limited to story comments and forum participation.

DZone Stats & Tools

DZone receives an average of 194,000 unique visitors per month and has over 25,000 RSS subscribers.

#6: SERPd

SERPd is a social bookmarking network for Internet and search engine marketers. Home page stories receive 15 to 25 votes, anywhere from 50 to 150 views and can be shared via Twitter and StumbleUpon.

You can create a profile, follow other members, send private messages and interact in the comments on stories. Top users are listed at the bottom of the site in the footer.

On a side note, social interaction was actually the reason SERPd was created, as a reaction to the popular search news site Sphinn changing from Digg-style user voting to moderator-approved stories only. I’ll give Sphinn the honorable mention, as they still allow members to “suggest” stories and the ones selected are usually top-notch.

SERPd Stats & Tools

SERPd receives an average of 19,000 unique visitors per month – quite impressive considering they only started in September 2010.

#7: Tip’d

Tip’d is a social bookmarking network for those interested in finance and business topics including real estate, currencies, entrepreneurship, career and economy. Home page stories receive 15 to 20 “tips,” or votes, and can be shared on other social networks using the Save and Share widget.

You’re able to create a profile and add other users as friends to interact via private messaging as well as story comments. Top users are listed based on network activity. You can even see what domains have the most votes on Tip’d by visiting the top domains page.

Tip’d Stats & Tools

Tip’d receives an average of 48,000 unique visitors a month, and has over 61,000 membersand 4,000 RSS subscribers.

Tools for website owners include voting buttons, a WordPress plugin, and a Feedflare for Feedburner command to ensure an “Add to Tip’d” link appears along with your blog’s feed items so subscribers can submit your story to Tip’d from their feed reader.

Tip'd is a social bookmarking network for financial news, ideas and tips.

What are your favorite niche social bookmarking networks?

Have you used any of these sites? I know this can’t be all of them, so please share your favorite niche social bookmarking networks, as well as any advice you would give others on how to be successful in getting their stories to the top of these networks. Leave your comments in the box below.